Ricardo Mendoza
Ricardo Mendoza is a Vatican cardinal and a member of the Catholic Church's Omega Group. History Early History At some point, Ricardo Mendoza joined the Catholic Church, and came to know Francisco del Piero, whom Mendoza would later commend on his commitment to the Church. Mendoza moved through the ranks until he became the Under Secretary for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. At some time, Mendoza became a member of the Church's Omega Group, and learned much of what the Church knew of the forcoming Omega Event; the end of the universe. Among the other things Mendoza learned from his connections in the Church and Omega Group was the knowledge regarding the Four Legendary Kingdoms, whom the Church had served for thousands of years (particularly the Kingdom of Land); the Great Games of the Hydra, which was the third of five trials set by a race of super-ancient beings and the heralding event prior to the Omega Event; and the Trismagi, the wise guardians of the Three Secret Cities. Mendoza would become the leading expert on the Trismagi, and by 2016 he had met at least one of them, the watcher of Atlas, Hardin "Sphinx" Lancaster. Before The Four Legendary Kingdoms After del Piero died at the end of the Capstone mission, the Church appointed Mendoza to take del Piero's place. Mendoza would mistakenly come to believe that Jack West Jr was the one to kill del Piero, and as a result followed the Australian's life and career with interest. In September 2007, Australian Intelligence discovered that Mendoza had been sent by the Church to meet with the President of Cambodia, as part of a larger tour of Vatican embassies around the world, including India, the U.S. and Brazil. Jack was debriefed on Mendoza and these actions at Pine Gap. After 2008, Mendoza was sent by the Church, at the request of the King of Land, Orlando Compton-Jones, to South America to recruit potential candidates to participate in the Great Games on the behalf of the Kingdom of Land. While in Brazil, Mendoza requested the bishop of a São Paulo prison to offer a group of of disgraced troopers their freedom in exchange for taking part in the Games. Mendoza would help prepare the dishonorably discharged troopers for the Great Games, eventually selecting Victor Vargas and Maurucio Corazon as two of the Kingdom of Land's representatives. The Four Legendary Kingdoms Mendoza accompanied Orlando and Iolanthe to the Underworld to bear witness to the fourth Great Games of the Hydra and proceeded to watch the various struggles of the Champions as they progressed through the first three Challenges. After the Third Challenge, Mendoza attended the banquet dinner hosted by Anthony "Hades" DeSaxe, and was delighted when he spotted the Oracle of Siwa, Lily West with Iolanthe. After introducing himself, Mendoza leered at Lily and rudely inquired if she was still a virgin, disgusting her. Taking Lily's assertion that it was none of his business in his stride, Mendoza noted that she would make someone a lucky husband before taking his leave. As Mendoza walked away, Iolanthe noted that the Church's abstaining had not been good for the minds of men like Mendoza. The following morning, Mendoza and the Royals watched the Champions traverse the wall-maze of the Fourth Challenge. As Corazon approached Chaos and the Golden Sphere he guarded, Iolanthe noted to Mendoza that they would see if the Brazilian psychopaths that he had recruited were worthy. As Mendoza claimed that they were, Corazon was effortlessly cut down by Chaos, and Iolanthe gave the Cardinal a look in response. Soon afterwards, Vargas managed to obtain Chaos's Sphere, Mendoza gave Iolanthe a smug smile to show he had been correct with his selections. As the progression prepared to move on to the Fifth Challenge, Mendoza first attended a lunch Hades was hosting for all of the remaining Champions and their sponsoring Kings, joining Orlando, Iolanthe and their Kingdom's Champions. After telling Vargas to use his reward to request exemption from the Fifth Challenge, Mendoza greeted Jack, noting how he had followed his career since the Tartarus Rotation and del Piero's death. Mendoza then proceeded to explain the Omega Event, the set of trials set by the Super-Ancients and the Trismagi, iterating that they lived in a momentous era where mankind would prove its worth. After the Fifth Challenge was over, Mendoza went with the rest of the procession to the Summit Temple to watch as the first five Golden Spheres were set into place within the mountains's obelisk before proceeding to the observatory to observe the remaining Challenges. As Jack and Vargas began their fight, Mendoza commented that it was unfortunate to have three of the Kingdom of Land's Champions survive the Games so long only to end up fighting one another. When Iolanthe asked Mendoza his opinion on who would win, Mendoza was certain it would be Vargas, giving the sign of the cross for Jack when it appeared he would be killed. Ultimately, however, Jack came out on top of the fight against Vargas and soon won the entire Great Games. Mendoza and the Royals soon went back to the Summit Temple in order to watch Orlando receive the Mysteries while the Hydra galaxy was diverted. However, when the minotaurs suddenly turned against the Four Kingdoms, Mendoza and the Royals quickly fled down to the helipad in order to try and escape. Mendoza managed to avoid the ensuing carnage and left the Underworld with Orlando and a few of Orlando's surviving people. When Hades, who had decided to join forces with Jack, learned that Orlando and Mendoza had survived, he quickly deduced that they would be preparing to make for the Three Secret Cities in preparation for the next trial. The Three Secret Cities A few days leaving the Underworld, Orlando and Mendoza hired Sunil "Sunny" Malik to assist them in locating the Three Immortal Weapons needed to ensure the Trial of the Cities was fulfilled. Because one of the Immortal Weapons, the Helmet of Hades, was known to be held by Hades, Mendoza accompanied Orlando and Sunny to New York to obtain it and see if there were any other artefacts that might prove important. . Personality . Trivia *Mendoza mistakenly believes that Jack killed de Piero by throwing him into a jet engine. It was Judah who actually did this, while Judah would be the one Jack threw into the engine. Mendoza likely recieved the wrong information, and Jack doesn't attempt to correct Mendoza either. Category:Characters Category:Huntsman Characters Category:Italian Characters Category:Antagonists Category:Catholic Church Category:Four Legendary Kingdoms Members Category:The Five Greatest Warriors Category:The Four Legendary Kingdoms Category:The Three Secret Cities